The Glee star, 27, has been seeing aspiring actor and model Matthew Paetz, PEOPLE has confirmed. The pair reportedly met in April on the set of her music video for "On My Way."

"For a long time, Lea wasn't close to even thinking about getting into a relationship," says a Michele insider. "Cory's death was and will continue to be a struggle for her."

For now, it appears that Paetz is helping Michele gradually move on. The question remains how much the actress knows about his questionable past.

TMZ reports that Paetz is a former gigolo, who once operated under the alias "Christian" on the escort website Cowboys4Angels. The profile has since been removed from the site.

It remains to be seen how this relationship will develop, but for her part, Michele is taking it day by day. "You can literally lose yourself if you don't actually die from it," Michele told Ellen DeGeneres last year of the grieving process. "[Cory] would want me to live my life."